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Quinton Zielke | NCAA | October 9, 2017

South Dakota tops Youngstown State, Redbirds fall on road

The Coyotes kicked a 29-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining to beat the No. 3 Penguins

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Week 6 in FCS football was full of back-and-forth thrillers, stunning upsets and crazy finishes as the 2017 season continues to produce quality matchups from across the country. Which ranked teams fell this week and how will this affect the nation's top teams moving forward? Here's a round to get you caught up on what happened this weekend in case you missed any of the action.

It did not take long for No. 3 Youngstown State running back Tevin McCaster to tally the touchdown category after he scampered in 5 minutes into Saturday’s battle with No. 6 South Dakota. However, the touchdown was answered by South Dakota’s star of the day, Chris Streveler. In a game that bounced back and forth, the two squads took different approaches on offense. The Penguins capitalized on the ground, led by McCaster who took 22 carries, four of them into the end zone. The Coyotes shined through the air, led by quarterback, Streveler, who tossed for 360 yards and three touchdowns. Shamar Jackson led South Dakota’s receiving core with 229 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown catch to begin the second half and give the Coyotes a 28-14 lead. McCaster answered the call, however, and scored twice to tie the game at 28 with 3:39 left for South Dakota to work with. After being quiet since the beginning of the second half, the Coyote’s offense began churning again and marched down the field to the 12-yard line with seven seconds to play. A Ryan Weese 29-yard field goal was the difference as time expired.

South Dakota 31, Youngstown State 28

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2. Illinois State shocked in Flagstaff

Case Cookus was cooking all day long for the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona against No. 7 Illinois State. Four field goals knotted the teams at 6 in the second quarter, but with 30 seconds remaining in the first half Cookus found receiver Elijah Marks from 32 yards out to cling to a 13-6 halftime lead. A pair of Cookus touchdowns, one through the air and one receiving, put the Lumberjacks ahead 27-6 and had them sniffing an upset. Back and forth scoring capped by a fourth Cookus touchdown sealed the deal and the upset for Northern Arizona. Cookus ended with 380 pass yards, 130 yards to Marks. The Redbirds struggled all day to get their offense moving due to a trio of turnovers.

No. 18 Western Illinois traveled to No. 21 Northern Iowa in a battle of purple and gold. Defense and special teams shined early for the Leathernecks thanks to a safety from Pete Swanson which gave them a 5-0 lead. However, two Elias Nissen touchdowns gave the Panthers a 14-5 lead heading into halftime. The streaky scoring continued as Western Illinois scored 20 straight point and clung to an 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. Eli Dunne answered the call with two touchdowns of his own, giving Northern Iowa a 4-point lead with just over a minute left. In need of a touchdown, quarterback Sean McGuire picked his way down the field and converted from 20 yards out with six seconds left to Jaelon Acklin to give the Leathernecks the three-point lead. The ensuing kickoff resulted in a Michael Bishoff fumble return touchdown. Efficiency was key for Western Illinois as McGuire completed 19 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns.

No. 14 Richmond needed two overtimes to beat an Albany team hungry for another top-25 upset this season. The game was controlled by two high-powered offenses led by quarterbacks who combined tossed for nearly 700 yards and seven touchdowns. Points were answered by points all day, but the Spiders found themselves down 10 in the fourth quarter. A Griffin Trau field goal cut the deficit to seven and with 1:27 left, quarterback Kyle Lauletta found Dejon Brissett to send the game into overtime. Both teams scored in the first overtime but Albany’s 2OT field goal was blocked by Daniel Jones, giving the Spiders a chance to convert. Another Trau field goal from 34 yards out was the difference.

No. 5 Wofford needed every yard on the ground to get passed Western Carolina. Wofford struggled all day through the air, completing just four passes for 73 yards. Their rushing attack, however, churned out 400 yards and all four touchdowns. Quarterback Tyrie Adams drove Western Carolina’s offense scoring three touchdowns. A 1-yard touchdown from Donnavan Spencer tied the game at 28 and sent it into overtime. A Stoddard touchdown gave Wofford the lead and an interception on third down sent the Terriers home happy. Neither team ever led by more than a touchdown.

GIMME THAT!

Wofford’s George Gbesee seals the overtime win for the Terriers with a timely pick

The Mercer Bears took down No. 17 Citadel thanks to their Legion of Chaos on defense. A trio of forced fumbles, along with an interception swung all momentum in favor of Mercer who led 14-0 at half due to a couple rushing touchdowns. Running back Tee Mitchell gave Mercer a 21-0 lead going into the fourth with his second touchdown of the day and it was all celebration for the Bears after that.

No. 24 Stony Brook led 20-7 and looked to be in good shape at halftime but the defense of Delaware came up big in the second half, shutting out the Seawolves offense. Malcolm Brown added 7 points from Delaware’s defense on a 45-yard fumble return touchdown. Delaware took their first lead with 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter on a Kani Kane rushing touchdown and never looked back.